Emmons County record. [volume] (Williamsport, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1884-current, 1887-03-25
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DEALERIN
SADDLES.
Etc. Repairing Promptly and Neatly Done.
Etc. Repairing Promptly and Neatly Done
Fourth Street. opposite City Hall.
BISMARCK. DAKOTA.
Notice of F,nn, Proof.
DIVISION OF s.LARGE COUNTLESS,

D1VASlON OE ''AAA u T. COUNT1ESs' ~
The Legislature failed to pass the bill
providing for publication of the laws in
the newspapers of the territory. One
amendment made SIS per hundred of cir
culation the price. This would not have
paid for the compositor's whisky on the
struggling dailies, and the "patent'
fiends would have scorned the sub
sldy and demanded additional remunera-
tion from the country publisher. Even
at the highest reasonable rate, there was
little in the plan so far as the newspaper
men were concerned. But the prompt
publication of the laws enacted would
have been good thing for the people,
who are now expected to obey lot of en-
actments which will not be published un-
til next autumn, and copies of which will.
be outside the means Of the ordinary citi-
zen. All one has been able to find out
in most matters, during the session or
since, is that 'tH. B., an act 10 amend
section -, chapter =, political code, I"
passed; or, &C B. -, an act in relation
to nibbllng at plugs" was duly in
troduced. But whether disobedience to
law was to lie in yielding or refusing the
"chaw" was not deemed worthy of men
ton. The daily papers have taken it for
granted that the people of the territory
were terribly interested in the question as
TO whether the pole of Smith or Jones had
knocked. or was about to knock, the off,
cial persimmons, and of these matters
the public has been kept we'll informed f;
but the official journals Of the two houses
have given no information whatever to
the average citizen regarding many of
the important bills. A statement made
in the journal that Mr.. Soandss intro
duced bill to amend certain section of
a certain chapter of the code conveys no
knowledge whatever to the gentleman S
anxious constituents. Even if the words
stricken out and those inserted are given,
one reading tho journal cannot make
sense" out of the proposed change unless
he has copy of the territorial statutes
at hand, which very few can afford. There
is not. we venture to say, one citltizen
in hundred who knows, even now, the
provisions of one tenth of the laws passed
at the recent session.
We believe that 1t would be wise
move for number of country publishers
to join together and have some one pres
ent at the next session for the purpose of
procuring and forwarding information as
to the exact provisions of every bill in
troduced, the nature of amendments, how
the members voted, ths names of those
who lodged, etc. In this way what is
sometimes termed "the provincial press
may during future sessions be able to
keep their readers posted as to what
measures-good, bad, indifferent, and
'woodchucks'-are before the Legisla.
ture. There would also, then, be some
chance of protesting against measure in
time. Under the methods of the past, in
many instances bills in which the
people of county were deeply inter.
ested and to which they were stron ely
opposed have been introduced and passed
without giving them chance to protest
For instance, bill was passed, vetoed,
and put through over the veto, providing
(as we saw 1t stately for the division OF
Large counties" 1t is alleged that the
bill was IN the interest of Lawrence county,
but that, to avoid the congressional pro
vision against special legislation. it had
to be made general. One would suppose
that the exact provisions of a measure
such as this would have been made pub
lie. The people of more than one county
would like to see the text of this law,
Is it certain that it 80 reads that no at
tempt can hopefully be made to apply its
provisions to counties other than Law.
renee?
Who knows?